द्रौपदी का हरण

Vaishampayana said: Having her naturally handsome face suffused with crimson arising from ire, with eyes inflamed and eye brows bent in anger the daughter of Drupada remonstrated with the king of Sauviras and again said,

O fool, are you not ashamed to use such insulting words to those illustrious and dreadful heroes, each like Indra himself, who all abide by their duties and never wave in fight even with hosts of Yakshas and Rakshasas.

O Sauvira, (the wise) never speak ill of learned persons carrying on devout penances, no matter whether they live in forest or houses; it is only the mean like dogs who speak so.

Me-thinks, there is none in this assemblage of Kshatriyas who can hold you by hand to save from falling into the pit you have dug under your feet.

Expecting to defeat the pious Yudhishthira, you really hope to separate, with a stick in hand, the leader of elephants, huge as a mountain peak, with temporal juice trickling down from its rent temple, from a herd ranging in the Himalayan valleys.

Out of childishness, you are arousing a sleeping lion to pluck the hair from off his face. You shall however have to run away when you shall sec the enraged Bhimasena.

Your attempt at an encounter with the dreadful Jishnu is like arousing a powerful, dreadful, full grown and furious lion asleep in a mountain cave.

The combat that you wish to have with those two youthful younger Pandavas is like the act of a fool of wantonly trampling on the tails to two venomous black cobras with bifurcated tongues.

As the bamboo, the reed and the plantain bear fruit only to die and not to grow in size, as a crab conceives only to perish so you will by laying your hands on me who am protected by these powerful heroes.

Jayadratha said : I know all this, O Krishna, as also how those princes are. You shall not be able to frighten me now with these threats.

We too, O Krishna, are born in the seventeen races and are endowed with six royal qualities. We consider, O Draupadi, Pandavas as inferior men.

Therefore soon ride this elephant or car for you cannot dissuade us with mere words; speaking less boastfully better seek the mercy of the king of Sauviras.

Draupadi said : Although so powerful, why I am taken by the king of Sauvira to be so powerless? I cannot for fear of violence do mean act myself before that king.

Even Indra himself cannot abduct her for whose protection Krishna and Arjuna, riding in the saine chariot, would follow; what to speak of any other weak human beings?

When Arjuna, the slayer of hostile heroes, riding on his car, on my behalf, shall enter your ranks, striking terror into every heart, he will destroy everything on all sides like fire consuming a pack of dry grass in summer.

Janardana, with heroes of Andhaka and Vrishni race, the mighty bowmen of the Kaikeya tribe, all these princes will follow me arduously.

The dreadful shafts of Dhananjaya shot from the string of Gandiva and propelled by his arms shoot through the air with grcat force and create a dreadful sound.

When you shall see the collection of dreadful shafts discharged by Arjuna from Gandiva, quick-coursing and like locusts you shall repent for your own folly.

Think yourself what will then happen when that heroes, armed with Gandiva and with gloves reverberating with the strokes of his bow string, will repeatedly pierce your breast with arrows.

Beholding Bhima advance towards you with mace in his hands and the two sons of Madri range in all quarters vomiting forth the venom of their ire, you shall meet with everlasting repentance.

As I have never proved false even in my mind to my worthy husbands, so by that merit I shall see you today vanquished and dragged by the sons of Pritha.

Ruthless as you are, you cannot terrify me by seizing me violently; for as soon as those Kuru heroes will see me they will bring me back to the Kamyaka forest.

Vaishampayana said : Thereupon seeing them ready to seize her violently that of expansive eyes reinonstrated with him and said, "Do not one pollute me by your touch." Then terrified she called for her spiritual guide Dhaumya.

Jayadratha caught hold of her by her upper garment but she pushed him with great force; pushed by her, that sinful wretch fell down on earth like an uprooted tree.

But being seized by him again with great force the princess sighed again and again; then dragged by him Krishna, worshipping the feet of Dhaumya, ascended the car.

Dhaumya said : Without defeating the mighty car-warriors she should not be taken away by you; O Jayadratha, you should observe this ancient custom of the Kshatriyas.

Forsooth you shall reap the fruit of your this mean action when you shall meet the heroic Pandavas with the pious Yudhishthira at their head.

Vaishampayana said : Having said this and entered into his rank of infantry he followed that princes, who was being carried away.